In 7 hours, 2 cigarette fires in Quincy and Weymouth

An early Friday morning fire left a Clement Terrace home in Quincy a total loss. A small roof fire at a Weymmouth building was put out with minor damage. Fire officials say both fires are reminders that smokers have to be careful when they dispose of cigarettes.

QUINCY – Two cigarette fires caused different damage Friday morning – the total loss of a Quincy house and a scorched roof corner in Weymouth – but fire officials said both incidents are reminders that smokers have to pay close attention when disposing of cigarettes.

At 2:30 a.m., a cigarette discarded outside the two-story residence at 15 Clement Terrace in Quincy ignited two containers of gasoline. The fire spread to the house and wound up leaving the occupants homeless.

Less than seven hours later, Weymouth firefighters quickly extinguished a small roof-deck blaze at 954 Main St. (Route 18), not far from South Shore Hospital.

The fire started when “a carelessly disposed” cigarette tossed by a worker was blown by the wind into a space between the building’s roof deck and vinyl siding, Deputy Fire Chief Richard Chase said.

A police officer working a detail reportedly noticed the smoke and made a 911 call.

Starr noted that the April 5 blaze that destroyed the Lakeview Pavilion function hall in Foxboro started because a cigarette was carelessly disposed of.

In April 2012, a discarded cigarette caused a fire at the Grove Manor assisted-living facility in Braintree, the town’s fire department said. The damage was estimated at $1.7 million.

Two occupants at 15 Clement Terrace reported Friday’s predawn fire in Quincy, Starr said. The fire department received the call at 2:12 a.m., and firefighters struck a second alarm 10 minutes later.

Starr said the fire started under the steps at the front of the house, from a smoldering cigarette that he said had been discarded “a few hours earlier.” He said the fire spread rapidly into the house after the flames reached two plastic containers of gasoline.

Starr said the two occupants reported the fire after they woke up to the smell of smoke and left the house unharmed. Smoke detectors in the house were working but probably didn’t go off because the smoke wasn’t heavy enough, he said.

The homeowners were away, Starr said. The occupants told firefighters that they are the adult children of the owners.

He said the residence, valued at $350,000, was a total loss. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries.